The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Thread® is your source for book recommendations and other literary news.

Ask a Bookseller

Ask a Bookseller is a weekly series where The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. Listen to Ask a Bookseller to find your next favorite book.

Big Books and Bold Ideas

Big Books and Bold Ideas is a weekly series hosted by Kerri Miller every Friday at 11 a.m., featuring conversations about books and other literary ideas. Listen to Big Books and Bold Ideas here.

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Sign up for The Thread newsletter to get reading recommendations from Kerri Miller and other bookworms around the MPR newsroom. Find reviews for new releases, as well as hidden gems you may have missed.

Talking Volumes

Talking Volumes is an annual event series featuring notable authors in conversation about their new books. Presented by MPR News and The Minnesota Star Tribune. 

Ask a Bookseller: ‘Tree. Table. Book.‘ by Lois Lowry
Kristin Nilsen of Big Hill Books in Minneapolis recommends “Tree. Table. Book.” by Lois Lowry
Margaret Renkl on ‘The Comfort of Crows’
To celebrate the upcoming 25th anniversary of Talking Volumes, we are revisiting a favorite from last year. New York Times columnist and nature writer Margaret Renkl closed out the 2023 Talking Volumes season with meditations on the joys of a backyard oasis, the inevitable losses of a warming climate and how to live while holding both of those truths in tandem.
Author of ‘The Parrot and the Igloo’ examines the history of climate change deniers
David Lipsky, author of “The Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denial,” talks about the history of climate change and those who deny the science behind human-caused climate change. 
Anishinaabe author Ashley Fairbanks invites children to honor ancestral Native land in her new book
Minnesota-born Anishinaabe author Ashley Fairbanks had her first book published on Aug. 27. The book is for children and is titled “This Land.” It invites kids to trace the history of their home and honor the Native people who lived on the land.
These Alaska moms couldn’t find a Yup’ik children’s book. So they made one themselves
Yup’ik is the most spoken Native language in Alaska, but finding Yup’ik books for young children can be almost impossible. These moms created their own — and now they’re fielding nearly 1,000 orders.
Bad news: Summer’s over. Good news: Fall books are here! We’ve got a list of 16 titles — fiction and nonfiction — you’ll want to look out for.